Ellen Bennett’s fans include Martha Stewart, Delta Airlines and the Ritz Carlton. Who is Ellen Bennett?

Headley & Bennett has grown into a multimillion-dollar kitchen wear empire thanks to this 29-year-old-year’s efforts.

Ellen Bennett must be doing something right if she has fans like lifestyle high priestess Martha Stewart and top class chefs Mario Batali and April Bloomfield. But who is Ellen Bennett?

The 29-year-old is an apron maker. And she is no ordinary apron maker. She creates dignified workwear for restaurant workers. Tired of ripped-off apron pockets, badly fitting uniforms and rarely adjustable straps at her place of work - a two Michelin-starred restaurant in Los Angeles - Bennett decided to take a hand in things. The restaurant may have been starred, but the uniforms were not.

Bennett began research into the kitchen wear industry and discovered how cheap imports had flooded the market with the results mentioned earlier. There existed luxury apron makers but there was nobody who made quality aprons on a large scale.

She decided to make aprons herself after the first order came by accidentally when the chef at Baco Mercat, a restaurant that serves Spanish-fusion fare in Los Angeles, mentioned that he was bringing a company to fit aprons for the staff. Bennett begged him to try her creations out. Her first order, made from the best quality denim and canvas, materialised for 40 aprons. She then approached celebrity chefs like Batali, who opted for her designs. There was no looking back.

Hedley & Bennett is now a 17,000 sq. feet facility in downtown Los Angeles. It is privately held and generates ‘millions of dollars’ in revenue annually. The brand’s tagline is: Proper Badass Aprons.

Source : https://www.fastcompany.com/40405178/how-29-year-old-ellen-bennett-became-the-culinary-worlds-apron-queen